I visited two former Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad branch lines in eastern Kentucky that have been transformed into rail trails on a pleasant spring afternoon.
Abandoned Posts
West Virginia may be regarded as a state centered around the coal industry, but it was the oil and gas industry that provided the state’s first economic boom and drove the development of the north-central part of the state.
As I drove through the winding backroads of southern Ohio, I stumbled upon an unexpected sight—a group of long abandoned fire trucks resting in the weeds at the site of a forgotten gasoline station.
In the isolated hills of West Virginia stands the forgotten and dilapidated Dusk Camp Methodist Church.
The bleakness of the winter landscape in south-central West Virginia was a constant reminder of the season’s harshness. It was a perfect time to visit some abandoned bridges and churches.
The warm spring weather of April 2022 was perfect for a hike along the former South Side Branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway.
Abandoned Kentucky is the perfect “coffee table” book that allows anyone to peer through a looking glass into the past, providing an evocative and detailed glimpse into the bygone era of the Bluegrass State.
On a cold and rainy day, we encountered a charming house nestled along the Dry Fork of the Cheat River in West Virginia.
Many of the abandoned “beehive” coke ovens of the Davis Coal & Coke Company are still visible today in the company town of Coketon, West Virginia.
The Maybrook Line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad provided a crucial east-west freight transportation route between Maybrook, New York, and Derby, Connecticut. After a fire damaged the Hudson River crossing, much of the line was abandoned. Portions of the Maybrook Line now serve as a rail-to-trail.
The O.H. Hutchings Electric Generating Station, located in Ohio, was once a prominent example of the United States’ reliance on coal power plants.
Last month, news emerged about the planned transformation of the closed Merchants Ice and Cold Storage tower in Louisville, Kentucky, into an office building.
I stumbled upon a circa 1970-71 Chevrolet Corvette Stringray, abandoned on the side of a road in Kentucky.
I stumbled upon a circa 1970-71 Chevrolet Corvette Stringray, abandoned on the side of a road in Kentucky.
The local rumors say that it was bought for a young man who was tragically killed in the Vietnam War. The car was then passed down to his brother, who also lost his life in the conflict. The parents, heartbroken by the loss of their sons, never moved the car and even left the house abandoned out of love for their boys. They, too, have since passed away.
More realistic is the story passed down from Mr. Dixon, a reader of Abandoned. After a dispute with the insurance company over underpayment regarding damage on the passenger side quarter panel, the owner parked it.
The Chevrolet Corvette C3, also known as the “Shark Generation,” was produced from 1968 to 1982. This iconic sports car featured sleek, aerodynamic lines that resembled a shark, earning it its nickname.
Explore the history of Cresson Sanatorium in Pennsylvania, a former tuberculosis and state hospital, and prison in the Allegheny Mountains.
Sherman Cahal and Adam Paris, authors of the newly released book Abandoned Kentucky, recently visited the former Old Taylor Distillery complex near Frankfort, Kentucky, to compile a series of before-and-after photos. Colonel Edmund H. Taylor acquired property along Glenn’s Creek and Versailles Pike and established Old Taylor Distillery in 1887. It was intended to be different from the distilleries of that era which had little confidence from consumers due to product quality. From its iteration, Old Taylor was designed to be a showcase for bourbon. Drawing heavily from his travels through Scotland, England, Ireland, and elsewhere, Taylor designed his distillery complex with buildings that sported thick walls composed of local limestone from Tyrone, battlements at the roof line, and round corner towers. Inside the plant’s walls were gardens and rooms where Taylor entertained guests, state officials, and dignitaries. The passage of prohibition, a nationwide constitutional law that strictly prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages, caused Old Taylor Distillery to close in 1920. National Distillers, formed out of a merger in 1924, acquired the mothballed complex in 1935 and operated the distillery under the Old Taylor name until 1972. In 1987, National Distillers sold the plant to American Brands, and James B. Beam Distillery, part of American Brands, used Old Taylor’s warehouses for storage. A portion of the Old Taylor campus, including the bottling plant and some warehouses, was declared surplus and abandoned. American Brands then sold the Old Taylor brand to Sazerac in 2009. What followed…
The Thorny Mountain Fire Tower within the Seneca State Forest in West Virginia is one of the few lookout towers that you can reserve and stay at!
A late autumn trip to West Virginia’s Greenbrier Valley isn’t complete without a visit to a few abandoned or forgotten landmarks. Afternoon light peeks between two glowing trees at an abandoned residence in Greenbrier County. Morning light shines thr
A late autumn trip to West Virginia’s Greenbrier Valley isn’t complete without a visit to a few abandoned or forgotten landmarks.
